DAAD: Alumni Workshop I

Enlarge image Achievements and Perspectives 

Postgraduate Courses for Professionals with Relevance to Developing Countries  

COLOMBO, 13 December 2011 – On Friday, December 2, the DAAD Sri Lanka held a workshop in the Galle Face Hotel in Colombo promoting networking among national development organizations in Sri Lanka. The workshop was initiated and organized by Dennis Schroeder, DAAD representative to Sri Lanka. The participants were DAAD alumni who have acquired an international master degree in Germany with a strong reference to topics related to developing countries. After their return to Sri Lanka, they are now employed in the local development sector, in universities or the private sector. Their DAAD scholarship has enabled them to acquire an internationally competitive degree in a postgraduate course with close ties to practical experience.  Enlarge image

The participants’ current fields of profession vary from positions in local NGOs dealing with waste management, agriculture and tropical forestry, to international organization like the German Organisation for International Cooperation (Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, GIZ). „Such a career represents a best case example“, says Dennis Schroeder.

The workshop started with an introductory round and a review of the existing German aid projects in Sri Lanka. The participants then discussed about various development-related topics in smaller working groups. What kinds of development work areas are there in Sri Lanka at present? What has been achieved in these fields so far and where should the focus be set in the future? Where international aid and expertise are currently needed - and where is it redundant? The results were subsequently presented to the plenary. Another essential objective of the workshop was to create a platform for alumni working in the vast field of development in Sri Lanka. Up to the point, such a forum has not existed. „As a matter of fact, networking among national development organizations is essential for exchanging knowhow and exploiting the capacities available“, says one participant.  Enlarge image

A second workshop is planned for February 2012. In this second stage, representatives of international organizations will be invited in addition to the participants of the first workshop. The alumni do not only have a say in choosing potential referees but they are strongly encouraged to make suggestions. This ensures that the second workshop will be as fruitful and that networking can be taken to the next level.

The effectiveness of development aid has been and remains a controversially debated issue. Well-trained local professionals who are networked with international partners play an important role in this context. “With this scholarship program the DAAD has created an educational programme that has the potential to empower young local professionals to contribute to the development of their home country.” 

Since 1994 this particular scholarship programme has enabled 57 scholars from Sri Lanka and acquire a degree in a development focused Master programme in Germany. For more information please click: http://www.daad.de/entwicklung/hochschulen/zusammenarbeit/ast/08079.en.html or contact the DAAD Office Colombo: gmail%27%com,srilankadaad http://www.colombo.diplo.de/Vertretung/colombo/en/06/DAADJaffna__Seite.html